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By Terrance Rey
Yesterday, I had the privilege and honour of sitting down with one of St. Maarten’s true political stalwarts from the era when Claude Wathey and the Democratic Party (DP) dominated the island’s political landscape. That political stalwart and legendary figure is none other than Leroy De Weever.
Our conversation centered on his time working alongside Claude Wathey, particularly in light of the centennial celebrations marking what would have been Claude Wathey’s 100th birthday.
At the young age of just 21, fresh out of college in France where he studied Economics, Leroy De Weever entered politics as the number three candidate on the Democratic Party slate, led by Claude Wathey as its leader and number one candidate. I believe this was during one of the federal elections in the 1970s.
De Weever ran twice alongside Claude Wathey on the DP ticket before stepping away from elected politics and becoming one of the island’s most influential political strategists. Over the years, he served as campaign manager and advisor to numerous politicians in St. Maarten, including his own sister, Millicent De Weever, leader of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
After a period of political calm and quietude, Leroy De Weever returned to frontline politics and was elected as a Member of Parliament in 2010, the historic year in which St. Maarten became a Country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
He continued to play the role of political kingmaker during the years that followed. Between 2010 and 2014, Leroy De Weever was one of the principal movers and shakers behind two consecutive Democratic Party-led governments during the island’s formative years as a new Country.
Following the 2014 elections, he left active politics after serving four years as a Member of Parliament and shifted his focus to his business interests, his family, and his grandchildren, leaving behind a political legacy that many who know the De Weever family can fully appreciate.
As he has been dealing with health issues in recent months, Leroy De Weever is only on St. Maarten for a brief visit before departing the island again tomorrow.
As Publisher and Editor of StMaartenNews.com, I asked him about his years with Claude Wathey and posed a simple but thought-provoking question.
If the Wathey family had invited him to speak during the centennial celebration of Claude Wathey’s birth, what would he have said? More specifically, what did he believe Claude Wathey would think of St. Maarten as it stands today?
In his characteristic style of speaking through parables, Leroy De Weever reflected on one of his final conversations with Claude Wathey. He recalled that Claude simply said:
“St. Maarten has become a complicated island.”
According to Leroy, those were Claude Wathey’s own words.
That remark has stayed with me ever since our conversation yesterday and I just had to write about it this morning.
If Claude Wathey believed St. Maarten had already become “a complicated island” during the twilight years of his own political career, one cannot help but wonder what he would say if he could look upon St. Maarten as it exists today, in 2026.
It is a question worth reflecting on, especially during this centennial year celebrating the life of the man who, more than anyone else, shaped modern St. Maarten.
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